Ulysse 2014 : l’odyssée du twinspace (French language prize)

In this project the students were set the task to rewrite the journey of Ulysses across Europe. The students were free to unleash their imagination in terms of choice of the initial situation, the place, the time, characters.

The project began with a brainstorming activity in each class followed by small group activities working autonomously on research and gathering information on Homer’s Odyssey, story structure, map the story. They had the chance to collaborate and cooperate with their partners through interactive activities to showcase ICT using the TwinSpace tools, to assess the work of their partners and to be evaluated themselves.

Through the project, students have become “junior authors” and they have improved their skills in speaking and writing in French. They have been brought into contact with new technologies, art, music, civilization itself. The Teachers and students also used a great variety of presentation tools.

Eleni Hartzavalou, one of the project founders, elaborated on the students’ experience: “this project was a journey and that’s what students enjoyed the most: the journey. Together with their team-mates they wrote fiction stories with a common hero, inspired by Odysseus.” And what’s her advice to teachers that want to start an eTwinning project? “Find a partner and give it a try, because it’s an unforgettable experience for students and teachers, as they exchange learning methods and broaden their horizons”.

The project founders on the stage of eTwinning Prizes

The final product of the project was a book bringing together the stories of 12 schools, created through the students’ collaboration:

And the jury has reached a verdict
Excellent with all great aspects an eTwinning project can have, based on original ideas, and great performance in all aspects. Lots of “new” methodology using brainstorming, conceptual maps, team work and international team work. A very creative kind of story writing. Curriculum integration was excellent and project-based as well, with strong emphasis on subjects.